1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to dental articulators and, more specifically, to an apparatus for cleaning casting material from such dental articulators after the dental articulators have been used in the fabrication of dental models (e.g., prosthetic crowns, bridges, partials, dentures, etc.).
2. Information Disclosure Statement
A dental articulator simulates the movement of a human jaw, and numerous dental articulators have been developed to articulate or mount together the upper and lower dental casts of a patient's teeth or edentulous arches in the same centric relationship as they interdigitate or come together in the mouth for use by dentists and/or dental technicians in the fabrication of dental prosthetic crowns, bridges, partials, dentures, etc. Many such dental articulators have built into them the ability for the dentist or dental technician to duplicate the lateral and protrusive excurtion movements that occur during maxification.
A preliminary patentability search conducted in class 433, subclasses 60, 74, 213, 42, and in class 249, subclasses 54, 67 and 68 produced the following patents which appear to be relevant to the present invention:
Harvey, U.S. Pat. No. 2,483,094, discloses a stripping and knockout mechanism for molding dies of the type that are customarily employed in connection with injection molding machines.
Huffman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,481,162, issued Nov. 6, 1984, discloses a flexible mold for use with a dental articulator. The flexible mold defines either a full base or a quadrant base of a dental model, and includes a perimeter member for defining the side walls of the base and a shelf extending inwardly from the rear side wall for delineating a slot at the rear of the base. The slot allows one arm of an articulator to be attached to one base and the other arm of the articulator to be attached to an opposing base.
Presswood, U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,185, issued Apr. 4, 1995, discloses a dental articulator including first and second trays hingedly secured to allow articulating movement of the trays with respect to each other with at least one of the trays provided with a grid having a plurality of holes in a spaced pattern to receive pins for supporting a dental prosthetic model.
Walter, U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,152, issued Nov. 14, 1995, discloses a dental articulator for creating a pinned model of a patient's mandibular and maxillary dental arches. The articulator includes recessed maxillary and mandibular tray support members, each containing a plurality of indexing holes into which indexing pins can be inserted.
Kuperman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,143, issued Aug. 19, 1997, discloses a dental articulator including upper and lower arches, each for receiving a dental cast of teeth and each having a grid pattern that includes a plurality of dowel pin holes that define multiple dowel pin locations for receiving a plurality of dowel pins, and a plurality of support pin holes that define multiple pin locations for receiving a plurality of support pins. The dowel pin and support pin locations are spaced apart such that a die may be held in place within the upper and lower arches by a plurality of dowel pins and by a plurality of support pins to prevent movement or rotation of the individual die or dies.
Michael, U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,033, issued Oct. 29, 1996, discloses a dental die model (i.e., a positive molding of teeth and associated gum area) for use with or without articulating devices.
Mercer, U.S. Pat. No. Re. 31,476, reissued Dec. 27, 1983, discloses a cast ejector for use in removing a master dental cast from a impression material-containing, duplication flask.
During the typical fabrication of dental models using dental articulators of the type disclosed in Walter, U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,152, and Kuperman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,143, casting material (e.g., a gypsum material often referred to as dental stone) will normally become embedded in one or more of the holes or channels. While such articulators have been soaked in a solution of acetone (solvent) for 48-72 hours to remove the embedded casting material, etc., the time and work involved in such cleaning operations and the known dangers in working with such chemicals, have limited its use and such articulators are frequently advertised and sold to be used only one time.
Nothing in the known prior art discloses or suggests the present invention. More specifically, nothing in the known prior art discloses or suggests an apparatus for cleaning a dental articulator including a base, and a plurality of precisely spaced pins extending from the base for insertion into the plurality of precisely spaced holes in the body member of a dental articulator to clean any debris from the plurality of precisely spaced holes in the body member of the dental articulator; the pins having the same precise spacing as the precisely spaced holes extending through the body member of the articulator and being sized to be inserted into and through the precisely spaced holes extending through the body member of the articulator.